With nationalism rising at an alarming rate in many developed nations, it is becoming more difficult by the day for international students to morph into citizenship in many of these countries. Canada recently changed its policies, making it more difficult for international students to stay, work, and acquire citizenship after completing their study programme. Australia followed by announcing new restrictions on student admittance. Donald Trump, the ultra-nationalist and isolationism Czar has recaptured the throne in the United States, making the writing on the wall there very clear to read. This is the perfect time for developing nations such as ours to pay maximum attention to how to leverage their greatest assets. In Nigeria’s case, these are our brilliant, resourceful, creative, and remarkably innovative youth. It is indeed time Nigeria derives maximum benefit from its brightest and strongest, who would ordinarily have ‘japa-ed’ before you could say ‘Jack’ not to talk of Jack Robinson. Its time the government doubles up its efforts on digital skills acquisition for this demographic group which accounts for the largest proportion of the nation’s 220 million population.
Ironically, globalism in the business space has not slowed down a jot, though, presenting ample opportunities for skilled citizens of developing nations to serve foreign clients remotely, earning highly sought-after foreign exchange in the process. A win-win for all parties, I must say; the foreign client receives world-class service at a fraction of the price he would have paid in his home country or in any other developed nation; the Nigerian service provider to whom the whole world has become available to conduct business and whose future is now less dependent on the vagaries of the local economy; and the Nigerian economy itself, for which new avenues to earn much needed foreign exchange would have opened up.
So, I ask again. Where are the call centres? Why are they not cropping up on a daily basis in Nigeria? Time will tell. Positively, I hope.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.